The need exists in various technical fields to be able to separate high-strength reinforcing elements, such as, for example, metal cables or strands, embedded into a cuttable matrix, such as, for example, rubber or plastic, so as to evaluate individual components separately or perform certain work or procedures on them.
One of these technical areas in which high-strength long-extended reinforcing elements need to be cut out of the matrix for a certain length is that in which the joining of the two ends of a steel cable conveyer belt is required in order to produce, lengthen or shorten the belt. In the joining techniques generally used in the past, all necessary work had to be performed by hand, which required a high outlay in personnel and time, especially for wide conveyer belts. In an initial work procedure, the rubber covering at either end of the belt has to be cut off in a previously determined joining length with the use of special blades impinging closely up to and above the embedded steel cable. In a subsequent work procedure, the rubber between the neighboring steel cables must be cut out with the use of a special blade for rubber, during which process the steel cables still need to be enveloped in some rubber coating, so as not to harm the subsequent vulcanization of the butt plates. The steel cables cut free and still enveloped in rubber are next lightly abraded on all sides with a suitable tool, e.g., a rotating scoring brush, during which process it is once again necessary to take care that the rubber coating is not destroyed. Thereupon the raw dust and other impurities on the abraded steel cable are removed with the aid of brushes or, in some cases, with a suitable cleansing agent. After being coated once or several times with a vulcanizing solution, the steel cables exposed in this manner at either belt end for the length of the connection are put on a prepared lower butt plate by hand and the remaining interstices are filled in with rubber strips. Next, a prepared upper butt plate is placed in the position with respect to the single or multi-stage steel cables located side by side, whereupon vulcanization takes place in a specially heated press. Of the procedures briefly described above, the extraction of the multiplicity of individual wires is the most time and labor-consuming step, one which places the greatest demand on personnel and which involves relatively heavy physical labor.